Cushioned mounting for wheels



Feb. 10, 1942. A. s. KRO-TZ CUSHIONED MOUNTING FOR WHEELS Filed Dec. 15, 1959 I vention.

Patented Feb. 10, 1942 PATENT OFFICE 2.212.21 CUSHiQNED MOUNTING FOR WHEELS Alvin S. Krotz, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The I B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. 1., a

corporation of New York Application December 15, 1939, Serial No. 309,367

9Claims.

This invention relates to cushioned mountings for wheels and is useful in spring suspensions for caster and other wheels of vehicles, large or small, including road, rail and other land vehicles, and also smaller vehicles, such as industrial trucks, furniture, omce equipment, hospital equipment, especially where space is such as to require a compact mounting.

Heretofore such vehicles have been, provided sometimes with rubber-tired wheels and casters which, while quieter in operation than rigid wheels and providing some cushioning of the body, have been very limited in their cushioning effect as a result of the tires of small size actin under mere compression. In the. case of industrial trucks the shock of pounding of the wheels has been so severe that floors of wood blocks and other types sometimes have been seriously damaged and tires have worn out prematurely.

Y The principal objects of the present invention are to provide improved cushioning of the supported body, to provide compactness of the cushioning structure, to reduce unsprung weight, to efiect individual cushioning of wheels, to pro vide' for individual castering thereof, to utilize .eflectively the considerable amplitude of cushion ing movement made possible by rubber-like material under shearstress, to provide simplicity of construction, to provide ease and simplicity of replacement, and to provide for cushioning of uncushioned wheels without extensive alterations. These and other objects will appear from the following description and the accompanying v drawing.

Of the drawing;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation'ofa suspension constructed according to and embodying the invention as applied to a non-castering wheel of an industrial truck, parts being broken away and parts shown in section.

' Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section thereof 'taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1'. I

Fig-3 is a side elevation of a suspensionaccording to the invention as applied to a caster.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a 45 spring constructed in accordance with the inwith the invention.

Referring to the drawing, an industrial truck body it is supported by a pair of non-castering rear wheels such as l I mounted in leg brackets i2, secured to the body, and one or more caster wheels i3 mounted on castering brackets it 55 23, 34

; openings l9 and 25 so as to permit greater clear,-

ance for deflection of the bracket l2 when loaded.

. aperture 35 in alignment with aperture 3!.

axles. For cushioning the wheelfin accordance with the invention, a 'pair of cushion members 20, 2| are secured, one to each legof the bracket. One of these cushioning members 2| is shown in Fig. 4 and comprises a cushioning body 22 of soft vulcanized rubber or other resilient rubbet-like cushioning material, and a pair of metallic plates 23, 22 united to opposite face thereof preferably by a vulcanized bond. The cushioning body 22 is preferably of annular form, with a recess in the form of an opening 25 therethrough to accommodate movements of the wheel axle 26. The plate 24 is also provided with an opening in alignment with the opening 25 of the cushion and is formed thereabout with a dowel flange 2'! at the margin of rthe opening 25. To prevent rotation of the plate 24, a tongue 28 is formed thereon and'is bent outwardly along the leg I! where it engages a notch 29 formed in the leg. when the leg and cushioning member have been assembled with the flange '21 in the opening i9, the tongue 28 maybe bent upwardly along the outer face of the leg II as at 30 to lock the cushioning member in place. Detachment is simply efiected in reverse fashion by first bending the tongue 28 down.

The plate 23 is formed with an axle-retaining aperture 3| preferably below the center of the The leg I6 is similarly supported from the cushioning member 20 which similarly comprises a cushioning body 32 bonded by vulcanization to spaced plates 33, 34, plate- 33 being doweled to the. leg 86 and the plate 34 having an axle-retaining The solid line showing of Figs. 1 and 2 indi- 'cates the positions of the parts when the mountings are under no load. When loaded, the bracket -92 descends to a position such as is indicated by the broken lines at A, .A in Fig. 2, whereupon the axle assumes a position more nearly central in Q the recesses in the mountings, giving good clear-. ance'for cushioningmovements in all directions.

The axle 26 extends throughthe apertures ll, 35 and is threaded at its ends to en age retaining nuts 38, 31. A sleeve 38 extendsbetween plates and about the axle 26 and the plates-22,

. by the following have a roller bearing 39 to reduce friction. The axle is preferably of such length as to extend into the apertures I8, l9 'so that should the truck -inz vertical movement of the axle and bein be overloaded or the cushioning structure fail under load; the bracket.

When the bracket I 2 is loaded and the wheel ll rests upon a supporting surface, the loadis axle would be retained by the leg entirely transmitted through the cushioning.

members 20, 2|, the cushions 22, 32 supporting the load by shear loading thereof and also cushioning any end thrust of the wheel by compression and tension.

By cushioning the wheel adjacent its axle castering of the wheel in the usual manner is not interfered with as the entire leg bracket I may swivel with respect to the fixed bracket l5 (see.

Fig. 3), and the same cushioning mem rs may be used either withv caster wheels or wheels not mounted for castering. Also, but a small space is occupied by the suspension and in a location that does not require objectionable cutting down of the wheel size. The utilization of the cushion' under shear stress makes for uniform cushioning movement and softness of riding quality.

When cushion members are to be provided on original equipment the plates 23, 33 may be eliminated and thecushioning bodies 22, 32 bonded on the legs [6, I I of the bracket l2, a1 though the construction shown is more convenient in permitting replacement and it facilitates manufacture as compared with molding the rubber directly onto the bracket.

The invention makes possible a low amount of unsprung weight in the vehicle and is compact. The cushioning action afforded by the suspension of the invention so relieves the floor and vehicle of impact shocks that the addition of rubber tires to the metal wheels is made unnecessary. Such tires may be added, however, if desired. The suspension units of the invention may constitute the primary springs of the vehicle, or they may be used in an auxiliary capacity, if desired, to supplement other suspension means.-

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined claims.

I claim:

1. A spring suspension for a vehicle in which a structure comprising a bracket is supported by an axle, said suspension comprising a pair of members connected respectively to said structure and axle, said members having opposed faces extending generally in the vertical direction, and a body of rubber-like material between said faces and bonded thereto for cushioning vertical springing movements by shear stress on said body.

the axle being secured to one. of said members and being movable with respect to the other member, the said other member being recessed to accommodate vertical movements of the axle and being adapted to be secured to said bracket.

2. In a springsuspension for a vehicle in which a structure comprising a bracket is supported by an axle, said suspension comprising a pair of members having opposed faces extending generally in a vertical direction, a body of rubberlike material between said faces and bonded thereto for cushioning vertical springing move- I ments by shear stress on said body, the axl'e'extending through and being secured to one of said said members being apertured for accommodat- 8 adapted to be secured to said bracket.

3. A spring for a vehicle suspension, said spring comprising a pair of opposed plates and a body of rubber-like material between said plates and bonded thereto for cushionlng'vertical springfirst said platejhaving a bendable tabintegral therewith for attachment to the vehicle.

4. A springsuspension for an industrial truck or like vehicle inwhich an axle wheel is supported I in a forked bracket, said suspension comprising a spring secured to each arm of said bracket, each spring comprising plate-like members having opposed faces extending in the vertical direction and a body of rubber-like material between said faces and bonded thereto for cushioning vertical springing movements by shear stress of the body,- one of said members being apertured" for the reception and attachment of'the wheel I axle, and said body and the other of said members being recessed for accommodating an end portion of a wheel axle and'for providing clearance for vertical movements thereof, and having means for detachably engaging a limb of said bracket.

5. A cushioned wheel mounting comprising an axle having a wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a forked member adapted to straddle said wheel and directly to supporta load from each end of said axle-,and cushioning structures supported by each limb .of said forked member and said axle .for cushioning the load, said cushioning structures each comprisingv a resilient rubberlike body adaptedto sustain the load entirely by shear loading'bf said body.

6. A cushioned wheel mounting comprising an axle having a wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a forked member adapted to straddle said wheel and to support a load from each end of said axle, and cushioning structures supported by each limb of the forked member and said axle for cushioning the load. said cushioning structures each comprising a pair of plates and an intervening resilient body of rubber-like material bonded thereto, one of said plates being mounted upon a limb of said forked member and the other being mounted upon said axle.

7. In a spring suspension for a vehicle in which a structure is supported by an axle, saidsuspension comprising a pair of members havin opposed faces extending generally in a vertical direction, a body of rubber-like material between said faces and bonded thereto for cushioning vertical springing movements by shear stress on said body, the axle extending through and being secured to one of said members, and the said body and the other of said members being apertured for accommodating vertical movement of the axle, said axle extending through the member 1 to which it is secured, at a position below the members, and the said body and the other. of

centerof the aperture in said body and other member. v j a 8. A spring suspension for a vehicle comprising a supported structure having an apertured bracket, an axle having awheel rotatably mounted thereon and being positioned for vertical movement of said axle in'the aperture of said bracket, an apertured plate secured against the bracket with the axle movable in the plate ,aperture, a secondplate secured to the axle, and a silient body of rubber-like material between said plate elements and secured thereto by a vulcanized bond for cushioning vertical springing movements by shear stress on said body said body and one of said plate elements being apertured for accommodating vertical movement of the axle, an'dthe other plate element having a relatively small axle-mounting recess offset with respect to the center of the aperture in thebodyand a marginal portion about said recessentireo ly within the areaot said aperture.

ALVIN s. Imo'rz; 

